State of the Play

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Robert Burns Fellow 1977 and 1978: Roger Hall (b. 1939)

Roger Hall expounds on his tenure as Robert Burns Fellow: ‘I was, I think, only the second playwright to get the Burns. At the time (and for many years) the University of Otago was the only university to offer arts fellowships. A privilege. The time enabled me to complete “Middle Age Spread” (which I’d been struggling with at home part-time); write my first panto “Cinderella” (“A waste of Burns Fellows’ time” one academic muttered). I got the Fellowship for a second year and wrote “State of the Play”. The Burns (and, later, generous support from the English Department) enabled me to become a full-time writer for which I’ve always been grateful. And Dunedin took the Fellows to their hearts: dinner – and other –invitations poured in. In the end, we stayed seventeen years. A great time for Dianne and me and a solid foundation for life for Pip and Simon.’